Etrian Odyssey: Despair
by Whispers-Ice
Summary: When a ragtag group of five explorers enter the Miasma Forest and are forced to face a personal peril, they realize just how close their bonds are.


**Disclaimer: Nothing in Etrian Odyssey belongs to me! Not the characters, not the areas, not the plot or anything else. **

Rating: T

"I don't have a good feeling about this..."

Erica glanced about herself. Her hands were clenched around the wooden hilt of her blade and though she was able to stop their trembling, she could not prevent their clamminess. Rattling metal sounded as the protector of the party, Melissa, stepped forward and peered over the two small pools of water ahead of them. She proceeded to glance at the labyrinth's real entrance - two steady wooden doors etched with foreign marks.

"Well, it's a little ominous, but isn't every labyrinth like that?"

"I guess so..." Erica swallowed and drew her weapon, "let's just try and if it's too dangerous, we leave this place. Alright?"

The other members of the team nodded silently, and though they all looked nervous, Erica couldn't help but raise her eyebrow at Richet. The young medic was trembling and he seemed to be beyond anxiety.

"Richet?" she asked gently, "Is something wrong?"

Richet jerked up and shook his head determinedly. His performance was impressive, considering the chalky tone that his skin had assumed.

"I'm fine!" he laughed, "Sorry, I didn't sleep a lot."

Erica frowned again, but Illaya flicked her half long hair out of her face and caressed the arrows in her pouch. The attitude of the sniper left much to be desired, but she was strong and quick.

"Alright, Richet. Hope you have your wand ready. You know how bad these labyrinths can get."

Melissa threw her shoulder against the labyrinth's entrance door and winked.  
"Let's go!'

The first thing that tipped Erica off was the strange haze hanging between the trees and the spiky foliage. If any monsters appeared at all, they were scaly and usually poisonous. A large lizard-like being even slipped between the trees and Erica had taken care to hide her party until it finished surveying its territory and slithered away.  
A sharp jab suddenly shot up her leg and she suppressed a scream. A small scorpion had inserted its long teeth into her unbraced ankles and Illaya kindly shot a silver arrow through its shell. It squirmed over the forest soil and finally laid still.

"Ah, thank you," Erica smiled, wincing, "Richet? Could you please-"

But he was nowhere to be seen. Upon noticing Erica's surprise, the whole party looked behind them.

"Crud," Illaya muttered.

The quietest member, a blue haired mage called Valerie, began looking around nervously and called; "Richet? Where are you?"

It took but a minute for everyone to carefully split up, still ensuring that every person could at least see two of their companions. Erica's heart beat up in her throat. Richet was the only medic they had and he was still wearing horrible armor - the reason they went to the Miasma Forest in the first place was to find supplies for better protection for him. If he was on his own, neither Erica nor Melissa would be there to protect him-  
The floor suddenly folded under her feet and Erica just managed to hold on to a tree.

_What's happening? Was it the scorpion? _She took several steadying breaths and tried to peer ahead through the thick haze. Had it always smelled so bad?

"He probably ran back home!" Illaya shouted from some distance, "We all saw how terrified the wimp was."

"I doubt it," Melissa answered, "he stood with us while we defeated the Berserker King. That requires guts for a medic."

Suddenly, an awful noise sounded from the beginning of the woods. Erica forced herself to stand and drew her blade, rushing towards the sound. She could hear the pounding of her allies' footsteps behind her, but when she found the origin of the sound, it wasn't one of the lizards.  
Richet was bent over by one of the tall trees, visibly shaking. Valerie hurried to his aid and helped him to stand up.

"Richet, what's wrong?" she asked urgently.

But the medic was still breathing heavily and without rhythm. Erica jogged over to his side - suddenly, another wave of the strange dizziness overwhelmed her.  
_What... _

"Erica!"

Melissa's pale face drifted above her and the young landsknecht sat up with a moan. Her ankle was still throbbing, but not merely as much as her head.

"Where are we?" she mumbled sluggishly.

"At the labyrinth's entrance," Richet smiled, "are you feeling better, Erica?"

She shot up when she heard Richet's voice. He gave her his usual absent-minded smile and finished off his healing spell on her ankle. The final sparkles that fell down closed her wound completely.

"How do you mean?! You vanished on us!" Erica exclaimed, "What were you thinking?"

Richet's face fell and he led his eyes away.

"I didn't feel good... I... I didn't want to tell you because I'm _supposed _to be looking after everyone, not vice versa. Then my stomach suddenly turned and I passed out..."

Illaya snorted disdainfully. "Told you."

"Richet wasn't the only one," Melissa suddenly said, "we _all _passed out. A group of people found us and told us - meaning Richet and I - that the forest is filled with a poisonous gas. If they hadn't dragged us out, we would've died."

"Oh..." Erica was flushed with shame and she tried to make it look as though she was thinking, "Well... uh..."

Richet chuckled. "I guess we were lucky, huh."

The others nodded in agreement.

"At any rate," Melissa slid her gaze to Richet, "despite your good intentions, don't do something like this again. If you're unwell, tell us. Alright?"

Richet blinked and eased into a grin. "Got it. I'm sorry for the difficulties today. Is it okay if we go home? We should probably devise some sort of way for us to move in and out of the miasma."

"Yes. Come on," Erica sighed, "let's go."

As her party left the labyrinth, chatting amongst each other with relief in their jovial manner, Erica glanced back one more time. She wouldn't lose any of her allies in the darkness of the forests and mazes. Never.


End file.
